Cuba with Christopher Baker
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The most personal travel experience to Cuba Oncuba Travel specializes in creating unique experiences through a plethora of products and services that allow international travelers to experience the real Cuba. Simply said, we understand and speak Cuba better than anyone else. We’ve extensively explored, connected, and have developed an extensive network of professionals in Cuba that allow us to create unforgettable curated experiences and lifelong memories for our travelers. Imagine driving down a street in a vintage Nobody knows Cuba better than us. Foodies love our cooking class Chevrolet, Ford, Buick, Cadillac, Mercury, Dodge, Oldsmobile or Pontiac Cuban art is diverse and our tours will allow you to experience Discover the remarkable history of Havana. Colonial life and the island’s talent and maybe even meet some of the artists behind it. modern times are all part of this unforgettable tour of Cuba’s capital, Havana Miami Office Cuba is well known for having some of the best rum and cigars in the world and the most colorful and vibrant art you can imagine. 3250 NE 1st Ave Suite, 310 Now you can enjoy it all in one place – Havana. Miami, Florida 33137 Call: (305)602-0219 [email protected] www.oncubatravel.com EDITOR´S LETTER Havana in Biennial Havana is a living city, seemingly preparing for its next conquest. The city entrenches itself, suffers, smells, breathes, screams with joy and pain, gus- sies up, and heals itself. Havana rules itself, and it sets its own pace. In an interview with OnCuba, the Official Historian of the City of Havana, Eusebio Leal, defined Havana as “a state of mind.” I would agree. The Ha- vana of the International Film Festival, in December, is flirtatious, showy. PRESIDENT The Havana of the Ballet Festival is refined and subtle, it wears heels and HUGO CANCIO suits. The Book-Fair Havana is tumultuous, warm... And Havana during [email protected] EDITORIAL DIRECTOR the Biennial is a captivating, roving party. TAHIMI ARBOLEYA Organized by the Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art Center, the Havana [email protected] Biennial is one of the most important cultural events on the island, and has a significant impact on the contemporary visual arts scene in the Americas and the world. The first Biennial took place in 1984. Although since its fourth iteration its frecuency changed to a triennial celebration, it still retains the name by which it became known internationally. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ARIEL MACHADO Beyond its main venues —the Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art Center, the Hispanic-American Cultural Center, the Center for the Development [email protected] DESIGN & LAYOUT of the Visual Arts, the National Museum of Fine Arts, and the University PATRICIO HERRERA VEGA of Arts—, several years ago the Biennial surpassed its physical limits and ELIZABETH PÉREZ DIZ turned the city into a great art gallery, spilling onto the Malecón and other public spaces. The event has traditionally been designed from different central themes that guide the curatorship of each edition. Some recent theoretical PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR references were “Tradition and Contemporaneity,” “The Challenge to Colonization,” “Art-Society-Reflection,” “The Individual and his Memory,” OTMARO RODRÍGUEZ “Dynamics of Urban Culture,” “Artistic Practices and Social Imaginaries.” COPYEDITING This year’s is “The Construction of the Possible.” CHARO GUERRA The 13th Havana Biennial is celebrated from April 12 to May 12, 2019, with the intent of turning the city into a cultural corridor where creators and audiences interact. With the participation of artists from all over the world, and the inclu- sion of Cuban creators from within and outside the island, without dis- TRANSLATION tinction of expressions, techniques, or formats, and constantly seeking a ERIN GOODMAN closer approach between the residents of Havana and those who visit it, WEB EDITOR CUBA the Biennial is a party for the imagination and the senses, a living stage of the best that contemporary visual art can offer. MÓNICA RIVERO [email protected] If you want to get to know a fresh, provocative, challenging city, visit Havana during the days of the Biennial. ON THE COVER: Juanito Delgado. Photo: Izuky Pérez Articles may be reproduced, in whole or in part, as long as the source is cited. Reproduction of photographs without the editor’s permission is prohibited. Any views or opinions expressed are those of the articles’ authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of OnCuba. > OnCuba and the OnCuba logo are registered® trademarks of Fuego Enterprises, Inc., its subsidiaries or divisions. > OnCuba Travel is a trademark™ of Fuego Enterprises, Inc., its subsidiaries or divisions. > Oncuba Travel a publication of Fuego Media Group, a division of Fuego Enterprises, Inc., a publicly traded company (FUGI). > OnCuba © 2012 by Fuego Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Apr.-May. 2019 oncubamagazine.com 11 Lights & Shadows PEDRO PABLO OLIVA CONTENTS “LEAVING A RECORD ONCUBA TRAVEL MAGAZINE OF MY TIME” ESTRELLA DÍAZ Pedro Pablo Oliva has been one of the most relevant Cuban artists since the end of the last century; his sharp, insistent eye is combined with a gripping sensitivity. 28 52 Arts & Culture My favorite place in the world THE 13TH HAVANA BIENNIAL: HAVANA, A CITY OF OLD CINEMAS IN SEARCH OF THE POSSIBLE CYNTHIA DE LA CANTERA TORANZO Fernando Pérez, director of Suite Habana, talks to us ROSSANA BOUZA FAJARDO about cinemas that are hard to find in today’s Internet In addition to its mojitos and tropical heat, Cuba is age. Large cinemas with huge theaters, balconies, and known for one of the most inclusive and important neoclassical architecture sprawling down 23rd Street. artistic events: the Havana Biennial. Its 13th edition provides an opportunity to see an interesting sample of Cuban and international art, and to enjoy the city 32 while it’s converted into an impressive art gallery. 16 Cover Cuba with Christopher Baker BEHIND THE WALL ¡VIVAN LOS HARLISTAS! Christopher Baker rode 7,000 miles through Cuba WITH JUANITO DELGADO on his BMW R100GS motorcycle in 1996, sparking a lasting love affair with the island and its quirky LAURA ARAÑÓ ARENCIBIA motorcycle community. Detrás del Muro (Behind the Wall) has been one of most impactful and popular components of recent 36 Havana biennials. Juanito Delgado, its creator and curator, has been working since 2012 on this mega- exhibition in its third iteration this year, with almost 70 invited artists. 20 Shortcuts Sports CIENFUEGOS, “HOT TALK” PEARL OF THE SOUTH AT HAVANA’S PARQUE CENTRAL ERIC CARABALLOSO HOWARD AXELROD Considered one of the most beautiful and welcoming Travel writer and lover of all things Cuba, Howard cities in Cuba, Cienfuegos celebrates its bicentennial Axelrod takes a turn in the batter's box at Havana's on April 22. OnCuba recommends five places in the baseball Esquina Caliente (Hot Corner). Did he hit a city and its surroundings that are not to be missed. grand slam, home run, or strike out? 40 58 Entrepreneurs Gastronomic Review THE CUBA THAT TOURISTS DEFINITELY NOT JUST A CAFÉ DON’T ALWAYS SEE ALICIA GARCÍA Dear reader, if you wish, you could have an CECILIA CRESPO unforgettable experience as an interactive consumer and be in contact, whether you know it or not, with Sheila, Nelson, and Alex have their own travel agency. international and local art in every dish. The three young entrepreneurs offer tourists an intimate, anecdotal, and authentic Cuba, moving in all directions. They are Quaquaversal Tours. 64 46 Music Billboard IDANIA VALDÉS, BEYOND APRIL-MAY | 2019 BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB ALEJANDRO R. CHANG OnCuba’s Billboard is your guide to enjoying Cuban ALEJANDRO R. CHANG art to the fullest. And since this issue celebrates the Idania Valdés has graced an impressive number visual arts, our special invitation is to the 13th Havana of stages during her short career. The daughter of Biennial. But there’s much more—everything you need Amadito Valdés and the youngest voice of the Buena to enjoy Cuban art in Cuba is in here. Vista Social Club, Idania shares her own aspirations and reveals herself as the great musician that she is. 70 52 CONTRIBUTORS ROSSANA BOUZA FAJARDO LAURA ARAÑÓ ARENCIBIA I graduated in art history, but Contemporary art is my greatest I'm not an artist, nor do I trust passion—I love the challenges it history. I am currently studying brings me. I always dreamed of for a master's degree in Mexico becoming a great writer, but I City. Between the Havana was seduced by the visual arts. Biennial and the new season of Game of Thrones, I can’t wait for Behind the Wall with Juanito Delgado April to arrive. P. 20 13th Havana Biennial: In Search of the Possible P. 16 ESTRELLA DÍAZ CYNTHIA DE LA CANTERA CHRISTOPHER BAKER ERIC CARABALLOSO CECILIA CRESPO ALEJANDRO R. CHANG HOWARD AXELROD ALICIA GARCÍA My great-grandfather was a My favorite time: dawn. My Travel journalist, photographer, Talking about baseball (or about There are times when I talk I was born in Guanabo, but I I am a Massachusetts-based My admiration for my father – lighthouse keeper in the Morro, favorite book: any will do; author, adventure motorcyclist, soccer). Eating (Cuban) tamales. nonstop, although I also listen. don’t like the sun. On the other travel photographer and writer. founder of the famous Rancho my mother was born in a wooden Tenderness is not Enough; and tour leader, romantic (and Listening to Sting or Habana My silent aspect is only seen hand, I could never be far from I have photographed in 84 Luna and El Aljibe restaurants, house with a red roof built at the the entire Veintiuno collection by single). Cuba—exotic, eccentric, Abierta. Enjoying Blade Runner when I cling to my keyboard.